Roasted Chicken with Morels and Fiddlehead Ferns

I need morel intervention. 

I think I've eaten morels three times a week for the past two weeks.  I tend to OD on the spring treats because they are so unavailable the rest of the year.  I have plenty of ramp and more morels dishes to share with you.

Last night I was asked by a friend what I make on a busy weekday night, with little time to go ballistic in the kitchen like I do on the weekends (Sundays in particular).

This dish is a good example.  I choose three or four ingredients at the most while shopping - less is more when under a time crunch. The best ingredients can be the star of the show, which also translates into the reality of not having to do much to make them taste amazing. 

I always start by shopping in the vegetable sections of the market.  For me, veggies and produce lead to the other choices I make for the rest of the meal.  This market had morels and fiddlehead ferns.  I flipped out with happiness and grabbed as many as I could without breaking the bank.  I wasn't in the mood for red meat or fish, so I went with organic, skin-on, bone-in chicken breast.  Substantial enough for the morels but lean enough for my tastes that night.

As soon as I got home, I seasoned the chicken and seared it with the goal of creating a crusty, brown skin. By the time I would take it out of the oven, I would have the morels, fiddleheads and a side salad ready to go.  I'll take you through my procedure for morels in a future post, but my favorite method is to slowly poached them in milk, butter and herbs, which also creates a sauce.  After removing the stems from the fiddleheads, I tossed them in a pot of salted water for a minute or two.  I took them out, gave them a rinsing under cold water to stop them from cooking a bit and set them aside.  When the morels were finished (soft and luscious), I added the fiddleheads to their sauce, as well as an acidic element for balance of flavors (lemon juice).  The morel liquid becomes the sauce that I drape all over the chicken when serving. 

This was a 30 minute meal that even Rachel Ray could make.  (Though I guess she would replace the morels with a "super fun" turkey chili or something).

(A note about morels.  I learned from the French Laundry Cookbook a long time ago that just a few pieces of a luxurious ingredient never do.  Cut back on the expenses of the rest of the dish and do it up.  Thus the pile of morels here.)

Comments

[jenblossom]

WOW. That looks and sounds fantastic!

[ann]

not to try and out your sources, but where are you finding fiddleheads and morels in the same spot?
SOS Chefs?

[joe]

garden of eden on 14th and 6, as well as their other location on 23rd on like 6 or 7th. they also have ramps!

[ann]

no way! i work, *right* there
i tried to score some ramps at the USQ farmer's market this morning, but the chefs from Craft had just blown through taking every. last. ramp. from every. last. stand.
i was very bummed, but now, my day has turned right the way around, thanks Joe!

[ann]

so, i didn't get morels at GofE, but i tried to go get some at SOS Chefs on ave b, and the guy sold me what he called "false" morels
turns out they're uh, posionous, and well, deadly
their real name is gyromitras so uh, as a shout out to my fungi lovin' nyc peeps, please, don't bite when someone tried to sell you these!

[Betsy Markum]

I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $34033. Isn't that crazy!

[mymymichl]

Morels: you do not need intervention, you need company to help you eat them. I willingly volunteer. Years ago I owned The Black Sheep in Manhattan, and a man named Walter came to town every spring to sell his excellent stoneware pottery from his pick up truck also loaded with morels he managed to snag back in the midwest. His first words always were: "Mike, fix us up a MESS of 'em", by which me meant smokey bacon, cream, maybe a few chopped shallots but maybe not if we were in a hurry, but LOADS of morels, and some of my hand made pasta.

It's perfect, even noble, to pig out on the goodies the season brings us. Being a restaurant has some rewards and this was certainly one of them; no regrets. Are you kidding?